Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Workshop Seeks to Help Valley School Staffs ID Potential Threats
NANCY WEBSITE HEADSHOT 1
By Nancy Price, Multimedia Journalist
Published 5 years ago on
November 15, 2019

Share

Valley educators and law enforcement officials will gather Monday in Fresno for a three-day workshop designed to help staff more readily identify threats to student and staff safety, including potential mass shooting incidents.
The workshop will come on the heels of Thursday morning’s shooting at a Santa Clarita high school in Los Angeles County that killed two students and injured four others, including the student suspected as the assailant.

“This is not a training to address stuff after it happens. This is pro-active. We’re trying to assess behavioral threats before they become tragedies.” —Fresno County Schools Assistant Superintendent Hank Gutierrez

Nation’s Top School Safety Expert Coming

It’s the second workshop on school safety hosted by the Fresno County Office of the Superintendent of Schools and will be taught by author/consultant John Van Dreal of Salem, Ore.
Assistant Superintendent Hank Gutierrez said Van Dreal is the nation’s top expert in school safety and was a resource for the FBI’s video, “Echoes of Columbine,” which was presented at the first school safety workshop in September.

“This is not a training to address stuff after it happens,” Gutierrez said. “This is pro-active. We’re trying to assess behavioral threats before they become tragedies.”
About 80 people from across the Valley have registered for the workshop, which is not open to the public. The participants, who will include principals, school resource officers, police chiefs, and school counselors, will then return to their respective schools or agencies to pass along the training to their behavior threat assessment teams, Gutierrez said.
The Superintendent’s office also will have staff undergoing the training, and those staffers will be available later to schools and districts that are unable to send a representative to next week’s workshop, he said.

“When administrators and teachers and support staff are engaged with positive relationships with their students, some of these indicators can be identified well ahead of time.” — Fresno County Schools Assistant Superintendent Hank Gutierrez
Materials that will be presented, including templates for developing protocols for behavior threat assessments, plans to protect targeted or victimized students, and conducting parent interviews, are on the Superintendent of School’s website, Gutierrez said.

Secret Service Analyzes School Violence

The workshop comes the same month that the U.S. Secret Service released an analysis of targeted school violence. The report recommends creating multidisciplinary threat assessment teams and providing appropriate training to school staff to identify and assess behavior threats.
Over a 20-year study, the FBI identified some key indicators, including pre-attack behaviors such as recklessness, aggression, and impulsiveness, Gutierrez said.
“That goes along with the culture of the school,” he said. “When administrators and teachers and support staff are engaged with positive relationships with their students, some of these indicators can be identified well ahead of time.”


DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

LA County Reaches $4 Billion Agreement to Settle Sexual Abuse Claims at Juvenile Facilities

DON'T MISS

Fresno Man Sentenced to 14 Years in Prison for Deadly Marijuana DUI Crash

DON'T MISS

Judge Says US Must Return Maryland Man Who Was Mistakenly Deported to El Salvador Prison

DON'T MISS

These Fresno First-Graders Are Topping Their Peers in Reading

DON'T MISS

Fresno Burial Ceremony to Honor Five Abandoned Babies Set for Saturday

DON'T MISS

Visalia Man Arrested for Soliciting Sex From Minor in Kingsburg

DON'T MISS

Camalah Saleh Cruises to Win in Stormy Fresno State Student Elections

DON'T MISS

Trump Goes Golfing While Stock Market Chunks

DON'T MISS

Brandon Vang Wins Fresno City Council Special Election Outright

DON'T MISS

Trump Says He’s Giving TikTok Another 75 Days to Find a US Buyer

UP NEXT

Camalah Saleh Cruises to Win in Stormy Fresno State Student Elections

UP NEXT

The NBA’s Playoff Chase Enters Its Final Days. Here’s a Look at What’s Happening

UP NEXT

USC’s JuJu Watkins Named AP Player of the Year After Historic Sophomore Season

UP NEXT

Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman Lands on Injured List Following Fall in His Shower at Home

UP NEXT

How Trump’s Latest Tariffs Could Affect Your Wallet

UP NEXT

Curry Scores 37 Points and Warriors Beat Lakers in a Potential First-Round Playoff Preview

UP NEXT

Measles Spreads to Central Texas; 5 States Have Active Outbreaks

UP NEXT

Startup Offers Controversial Microplastic Blood Cleansing Treatment

UP NEXT

Pence Will Receive the Profile in Courage Award From the JFK Library for His Actions on Jan. 6

UP NEXT

Politics Turns Ugly for a Conservative Running for Fresno State Student Body President

Nancy Price,
Multimedia Journalist
Nancy Price is a multimedia journalist for GV Wire. A longtime reporter and editor who has worked for newspapers in California, Florida, Alaska, Illinois and Kansas, Nancy joined GV Wire in July 2019. She previously worked as an assistant metro editor for 13 years at The Fresno Bee. Nancy earned her bachelor's and master's degrees in journalism at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. Her hobbies include singing with the Fresno Master Chorale and volunteering with Fresno Filmworks. You can reach Nancy at 559-492-4087 or Send an Email

These Fresno First-Graders Are Topping Their Peers in Reading

1 hour ago

Fresno Burial Ceremony to Honor Five Abandoned Babies Set for Saturday

2 hours ago

Visalia Man Arrested for Soliciting Sex From Minor in Kingsburg

2 hours ago

Camalah Saleh Cruises to Win in Stormy Fresno State Student Elections

3 hours ago

Trump Goes Golfing While Stock Market Chunks

3 hours ago

Brandon Vang Wins Fresno City Council Special Election Outright

4 hours ago

Trump Says He’s Giving TikTok Another 75 Days to Find a US Buyer

4 hours ago

Tulare County Man Arrested After Firing at Deputies During Eviction Attempt

5 hours ago

If ex-Bitwise CEOs Behave in Prison, How Much Less Time Will They Serve?

5 hours ago

Trump Just Bet the Farm

6 hours ago

LA County Reaches $4 Billion Agreement to Settle Sexual Abuse Claims at Juvenile Facilities

LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles County has reached a $4 billion agreement to settle nearly 7,000 claims of sexual abuse in juvenile facilities sin...

8 minutes ago

8 minutes ago

LA County Reaches $4 Billion Agreement to Settle Sexual Abuse Claims at Juvenile Facilities

11 minutes ago

Fresno Man Sentenced to 14 Years in Prison for Deadly Marijuana DUI Crash

13 minutes ago

Judge Says US Must Return Maryland Man Who Was Mistakenly Deported to El Salvador Prison

1 hour ago

These Fresno First-Graders Are Topping Their Peers in Reading

A public burial ceremony will be held Saturday, April 5, 2025, in Fresno to honor five abandoned infants, organized by Garden of Innocence – Fresno County. (Garden of Innocence)
2 hours ago

Fresno Burial Ceremony to Honor Five Abandoned Babies Set for Saturday

Uriel Alcala Rios, 25, was arrested for soliciting sex from a 14-year-old girl on Thursday, March 27, 2025. (Kingsburg PD)
2 hours ago

Visalia Man Arrested for Soliciting Sex From Minor in Kingsburg

3 hours ago

Camalah Saleh Cruises to Win in Stormy Fresno State Student Elections

President Donald Trump waves as he arrives at the Trump International Golf Club, Friday, April 4, 2025, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP/Alex Brandon)
3 hours ago

Trump Goes Golfing While Stock Market Chunks

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend